Red Jacket Cycling Team

The mountain bike race season isn’t completely over yet, but the majority of it is.  How did things wrap up for the Red Jackets?

At the Chain Drive, first-year Red Jacket Justin Weber turned in a strong top-10 finish overall in a stacked men’s field for the 32-mile race, which was also good for first in his age group.  Chris Schmidt also rode to a 22nd place overall, followed closely behind by Tim Kostner, who captured his age group.  Caleb Wendel easily won his age group in the 32-mile race as well.  In the 16-mile race, Kit Cischke just missed a top-10 finish, coming in 11th overall and 3rd in his age group.  Jon Klimowicz finished just out of the top-20.  Chris Lehto had a strong ride in a strong field that earned  him 42nd overall.  Dave Watkins finished just behind Chris.  Steve Hackney finished just off of his age group podium, as did Bruce Harvey.  Tammi Lehto fought through her knee injury to grab 3rd in her age group.  Brett Hamlin shepherded his 6-year old son to a 3rd place in his age group, making sure the next generation of riders will be ready to slip on the Red Jacket jersey.  And of course, Terry Kinzel crossed the line smiling and graciously allowing the race to cross his property!

The race season then gets a little quiet until the Great Deer Chase in Calumet.  Justin Weber again led the charge with a strong 8th place in the 27-mile effort. James Bialas came in 27th overall, hotly contesting the unofficial Official U.P. Singlespeed Championships.  Brett Hamlin continued his strong comeback season with a solid 40th place, just getting nipped by the overall women’s winner.  In the 15-mile division, Steve Hackey nabbed a podium in his age group, followed only 9 seconds by Chris Lehto.  Bruce Pletka grabbed an age group podium, sharing a little awards time with his son Jeremy (who grabbed 1st in the singlespeed category).

The Michigan Tech MTB Rondevous is in its sophomore year, taking place on the fantastic singletrack of the Tech Trails.  Chris Schmidt returned from Deer Chase photography duties to grab 8th overall in the 2-lap race.  Finishing just 4 minutes behind the Speedy Schmidty was Brett Hamlin.  Caleb Wendel rode his way to a 3rd place overall in the 1-lap race with Steve Hackney grabbing the last spot in the top 10.

The final leg of the Keweenaw Triple Crown is the the famous (or infamous) Copper Harbor Fat Tire Festival.  With more than 400 riders lining up to climb the hills around the tiny village of Copper Harbor, the Red Jackets had their work cut out for them.  Again, Justin Weber led the effort with a solid 8th place in the grueling 28 mile race.  Chris Schmidt declared one gear was enough for the hills and grabbed 4th place in the singlespeed class and putting lots of riders with gears to shame.  Brett Hamlin survived the day and posted a solid effort, coming in 69th overall, still in the upper 50% of a stacked field.  In the 14 mile race, Tim Kostner finished 2nd overall, just over 1 minute behind the winner.  Caleb Wendel finished 16th overall, which was only good for 7th in the massive 50-man 30-39 age bracket.  Kit Cischke rolled in 32nd, 11th in that same massive bracket.  Steve Webber came in just behind Kit.  James Bialas piloted his Kona  to a solid 52nd overall.  Bruce Harvey finished 6th in his age bracket with a strong effort.  Chris Lehto had an off day, but still finished ahead of more than 75 riders.

The team has clearly taken their share of awards this year.  Next year should be even better!  And now we turn our eyes to the UPCROSS cyclocross series before the snow starts to fly again…

We all know about the upcoming Chain Drive.  We’ll be doing pre-rides of the course several times in the coming week.  But there are still some other races coming up that haven’t gotten as much press.

10-S Triathlon
This race isn’t 100% confirmed  yet, but is simply pending approval from the City of Hancock.  For those who have participated in the race before, the course is mainly the same:

• Swim: 500m; Hancock beach to boat launch
• Bike:  28k; Campground to McLain St. Park and back
• Run:  5k; Campground, Left on Anthony St., Left on Birch St., Right on Robert St., Right on snowmobile trail to Elevation St., Right on Elevation St., Right on M-203 back to campground

The race will be on its traditional day, after the Chain Drive, Sunday, June 19th.  Racers will hit the water at 11am race  Registration is $35 for an individual or $55 for a team.  Race t-shirt included.  More details and confirmation of all the race details will be coming on 13 June.

Three Days of Marquette
To replace the cancelled Superior Bike Fest, the Marquette cycling community rallied to create several underground races.  Here’s the skinny:

Friday: Cherry Creek Road Uphill Time Trial. Starting at the corner or Cherry Creek Road and County 480, and then heading up.  Race meeting starts at 5:45 PM.

Saturday: YGB MTB Chase.  2 hard laps of a course starting a the parking lot east of the Carp River.  Race Meeting at 8:45 AM, race starts at 9AM.

Sunday: Superior Bike Fest Memorial Ride/Race. Starts and finishes at the Superior Hills Middle School and covers the old Superior Bike Fest Course.  As with La Fleche du Nord and the Ronde van Skandia, this is a “ride” that just might hit race-pace. Start time is “early”.

All events in the 3 Days of Marquette are unsanctioned, unsupported and simply for fun.  There are competitions for overall placing for those who compete in all three races.

The Keweenaw will play host to round two of the 2011 Spring Classics Season with a ride from Houghton to the top of Brockway Mountain: 75 miles, 3000ft of climbing, 6 sections of dirt.

May 7, 2011, 10A.M.
Details to follow.

Obligatory teaser poster:

For those of you who like a little more adventure in your racing, the Outdoor Adventures Program at MTU is putting on the Great Northern Adventure Race (the GNAR) on Saturday, April 16th.  Details can be found here, along with the registration documents.  From the website:

This is the first running of the Great Northern Adventure Race, The GNAR, and we want you to be a part of it. This introductory 3-5 hour race will consist of orienteering, Mt Biking, Running/Walking, and other mystery challenge events working with either 2 or 4 person teams. This is a great race for first time adventure racer as well as a good warm up for the seasoned veterans. The race will take place in the rugged and picturesque area around the Upper Peninsula city of Houghton, MI.